'Juice' is pure for Wildcats

Dennis Wierzbicki/US PresswireMichael Thompson is averaging 13.4 points a game for the Wildcats.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Self-given nicknames rarely stick.

Believe me, I know. No matter how adamant I am or how long I won’t answer to any other name, my rec-league teammates just won’t call me after my self-appointed basketball nickname, Mo’ Powers. I always thought that had a splendid ring to it?

It’s just the same as if “Magic” had been Earvin Johnson’s idea or Michael Jordan was the first to start referring to himself as “Air.” In both cases, it was someone else who originated the clever nicknames. Otherwise, they probably would have vanished as quickly as they were conceived.

Northwestern junior point guard Michael Thompson is a different story. He gave himself the nickname “Juice” as a kid, and few people know him by anything else now.

“When I shoot threes, I’d always say, ‘My jump shot was 100 percent,’ so I would call myself Juice, and it happened to stick with me,” Thompson said.

Northwestern coach Bill Carmody isn’t much for nicknames, though. The origin of Juice certainly didn’t interest him as he prepared for Penn State before Tuesday’s practice.

Because it is unfair that Thompson created “Juice,” Carmody is allowed to take over ownership of Thompson’s nickname. Just as someone once spoke the words, “Magic” Johnson and “Air” Jordan, we now have Michael “Cranberry Juice” Thompson.

Scott Powers is the Blackhawks beat reporter for ESPNChicago.com. He is an award-winning journalist and has been reporting on preps, colleges and pros for publications throughout the Midwest since 1997.

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ABOUT THIS BLOG

Scott Powers

Powers is an award-winning journalist and has been reporting on preps, colleges and pros for publications throughout the Midwest since 1997. He joined ESPNChicago in May 2009 and lives in Chicago.

Adam Rittenberg

Rittenberg joined ESPN.com in 2008 after four years at the Daily Herald, where he covered sports at Notre Dame, Northwestern, DePaul and several other colleges. He lives in Chicago and writes for the Big Ten blog.

Brian Bennett

Bennett joined ESPN.com in August 2008 after nine years at The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Ky., where he covered college sports and the University of Louisville beat. He lives in Louisville and writes for the Big Ten blog.

Matt Fortuna

Fortuna joined ESPN.com in 2011 after working for MLB.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, where he covered college sports. He grew up in New York and is a Penn State graduate. Fortuna's Notre Dame blog is here.